New York City’s “EE” train (now the “E” train) services Elmhurst Avenue in Queens. According to a post by Bill Newkirk on SubChat.com on May 18, 2007, the EE was nicknamed the “Elmhurst Earthworm.” The “earthworm” nickname probably indicates that riders thought the service was slow.
Double letters for subway trains were eliminated in 1985, and the “Elmhurst Earthworm” nickname is of historical interest today.
Wikipedia: E (New York City Subway service)
The E Eighth Avenue Local is a rapid transit service in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or “bullet”, is blue since it uses the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan.
The E operates at all times between Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer in Jamaica, Queens, and World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan; limited rush hour service originates and terminates at 179th Street instead of Jamaica Center. Daytime service operates express in Queens and local in Manhattan; late night service makes local stops along its entire route.
In its early years, the E train ran along the Rutgers Street Tunnel and IND Culver Line to Brooklyn, though this service pattern stopped by the 1940s. Until 1976, it ran to Brooklyn and Queens via the IND Fulton Street Line and IND Rockaway Line. The E’s northern terminal was switched from 179th Street to Jamaica Center with the opening of the IND Archer Avenue Line in 1988.
SubChat.com
Re: Nicknames Of The Subway Lines
Posted by Newkirk Images on Fri May 18 20:23:45 2007, in response to Nicknames Of The Subway Lines, posted by E Line Fan on Thu May 17 14:45:38 2007.
A couple of nicknames from the past of which I didn’t dream up:
(CC) Concourse Creeper / Concourse Crawler
(EE) Elmhurst Earthworm
(GG) Good Gosh
(RR) Rosh Hashanna Rocket
Bill “Newkirk”
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•“Never underestimate my desire at any given moment to go home” (4/23)
•“I’m a better person when I’m tan and holding a margarita” (4/23)
•“You ARE a good driver. That curb DOESN’T belong there” (4/23)
•“‘It’s been a long week.’—Me, in the middle of Tuesday” (4/23)
•“Buying frozen pizza is such a lie. ‘Oh I’ll save this for when I don’t feel like cooking’. Surprise, surprise. Day one” (4/22)
More new entries...
Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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